Absorbent articles such as panty liners and sanitary napkins are well known throughout the art. Generally, these articles have an absorbent, body facing side and a garment facing side. In many instances, the garment facing side is comprised of a fluid impermeable barrier film. A preferred method of securing these articles so that there is close, direct contact between the perineal area and the user's undergarment is to apply an adhesive to the garment facing side. The adhesive is chosen to provide sufficient anchoring strength to hold the article firmly in place while the user moves.
Inherent in absorbent articles of the above-described construction is the requirement to have release paper applied to the adhesive. The release paper allows the article to be manufactured, packaged, stored, and otherwise handled without the adhesive adhering to itself or any other object. Release paper also serves to prevent oxidation, dust or dirt contamination of the adhesive and evaporation of tackifying resins. Unfortunately, the use of release paper is undesirable for several reasons. First, before the absorbent article can be used, the paper must be removed and discarded. This presents disposal problems and reduces the discretion with which the absorbent articles may be used. Second, release paper adds significantly to product cost. This is particularly true for low cost panty liners and the like which use very little absorbent material. Extra costs due to the release paper are incurred by both the additional material costs and the additional processing time and labor required to apply the release paper.
Thus, it would be desirable to eliminate the need for release paper while still retaining the adhesive applied to the garment facing side of an absorbent article so that it can be used to adhere the absorbent article to the undergarment during use but will not stick to itself or an inappropriate surface before use.